


white (lace) lies

by thatqueerworm



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), Established Relationship, Fluff, Gender Dysphoria, Happy Ending, M/M, Soft Zuko (Avatar), maid outfit, nonbinary!sokka, sokka in a maid outfit, supportive zuko, this is my first fic please be nice, trans!sokka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:15:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29206473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatqueerworm/pseuds/thatqueerworm
Summary: sokka gets a maid outfit, but keeps it a secret from zuko. until he doesn’t.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 90





	white (lace) lies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wordsinabook](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsinabook/gifts).



> this is my first ever fic so it may be kina bad but I hope you like it!

It was weird for Sokka to be hiding something. Usually they would be bouncing off the walls to share everything, whether it be a new book they read, a joke they came up with, or anything they had whipped up in the kitchen. But a package had been delivered for them over a month ago, and Zuko still had no idea what was in it.

\--------

He had first tried asking them about it two days after the package had arrived, the first time Zuko realized it had disappeared from the table in the foyer and got stashed somewhere that, apparently, he didn’t know about. 

“Hey babe?” he started. 

“Hmmmm?” Sokka replied, not moving their head from where it was resting in Zuko’s lap. 

“What was in that package you got the other day?”

Sokka stiffened, then quickly sat up. “Oh, uh, nothing, um, just—just some, uh, new clothes, yeah, just a couple shirts and things.”

“Woah, hey, is everything okay?” Zuko reached over, turning Sokka’s face toward him and brushing a loose piece of hair out of their eyes.

“What? Uh, yeah. Of course. I just have to, uh, go use the bathroom.” Sokka stood abruptly and rushed out of the room, leaving Zuko’s hand hanging in midair. 

\--------

Zuko waited a couple days before he brought it up again. This time they were relaxing in bed, Sokka’s face buried in the crook of his neck, both of them falling asleep.

“So hey, when do I get to see those new shirts you got?”

Zuko felt Sokka take a sharp intake of breath before shakily replying, “Oh, they, uh, they didn’t fit so, um, I have to return them.”

“Oh. Okay.” Zuko moved his hand from where it was playing in Sokka’s wolf tail and shifted over slightly. There was clearly something wrong, but Sokka obviously didn’t want to talk about it, and Zuko didn’t want to push them. 

Zuko closed his eyes and drifted off, trying not to think of the inch he had put between them.

\--------

It wasn’t until a few weeks later that Zuko got his first hint as to what was really going on. Sokka was in the kitchen putting together a couple things to send to Katara when Zuko walked in. 

“Here, let me help you with that,” he said, moving to stand next to Sokka and gathering a few things from the counter to fill the empty space in the box. “Hey, wait,” he added, noticing the old label, “isn’t this the box those shirts came in? I thought you said you were going to return them.”

Sokka froze, and then let out a deep breath. “If I tell you something,” they began, “promise me that you won’t get upset.”

Zuko took hold of Sokka’s hand from where it was hanging by their side. “What’s going on?”

“Please, I need you to promise.” Sokka bit their lip, their eyes landing anywhere but Zuko’s face. 

“I promise. Of course. Now what’s going on?”

“I may have lied to you,” Sokka blurted. “The clothes I got fit fine and I’m keeping them, it's just…” they trailed off. 

Zuko squeezed Sokka’s hand. “Just what, babe?”

“Just—just it's not the type of things that I typically wear so I’m, I don’t know, a little… apprehensive, I guess, about putting it on.”

“What, like a nice button-up instead of the t-shirts you always wear?” Zuko joked. 

“Yeah, something like that,” Sokka mumbled. Picking up the box, they continued, “I’m going to take this down to the post office. I’ll see you later. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Zuko pressed a soft kiss to Sokka’s forehead before watching them walk out the front door. 

\--------

There were good days and there were bad days with Sokka’s dysphoria. Today was not a good day. 

“It just seems like no matter what I do or say, everyone is always going to see me as a guy anyway!” Sokka paced across the floor, their hands whipping through the air as they spoke. “It’s not my fault that my body looks like this or that this is the way I feel comfortable dressing most of the time!”

Zuko sat on the couch, his heart breaking. They had been together almost three years now and he was still never sure what to do when Sokka got like this. He could affirm their identity over and over, and sometimes it works, but more often than not when it was as bad as today seemed to be, it just ends with Sokka in tears. 

“And it’s like, what do you want me to do?? I’m sorry I don’t fit in with what your idea of ‘nonbinary’ is! I thought that not having to fit into some type of box was kind of the whole fucking point!” They seemed angry now, but Zuko knew they were an inch away from completely falling apart. 

“Please, for once, can someone read me as feminine instead? But no, I’m stuck with this stupid masculine body and these so-called ‘androdgynous’ clothes that are really just ‘man-lite’ with no way to—unless…” Sokka froze. “Babe, do you remember that package I got a while back?”

Zuko furrowed his brow in confusion. “Yeah, why?”

“Just,” Sokka hurried out of the room, “stay there and close your eyes.”

Zuko shut his eyes, feeling a little nervous. Sokka had never acted quite like this before, and he wasn’t sure if they were in the right headspace at the moment. He could hear some rustling and thumping coming from their bedroom, and then, a few minutes later, Sokka’s soft footsteps coming back down the hall. 

“Okay, you can look now.”

Zuko opened his eyes to see Sokka peering up at him through their lashes, a soft smile on their face, and—oh, god.

Sokka’s hair was loose and hanging down around their face, a few pieces slipping over their eyes. Sokka’s toes to their thighs were wrapped in white stockings with little black bows at the top. Above them, layers of black and white fabric swished around their legs, revealing just an inch of smooth brown skin. Their chest was covered by a black top and two white pieces laced together in a corset-like fashion that added subtle curves to their figure. And—god—the lace. The sleeves, the skirt, the neckline—all of it was trimmed in exquisite white lace.

Zuko struggled to form a coherent thought. “You—you bought a maid outfit.”

“Oh my god you hate it I’m sorry,” Sokka rambled. “I know that it’s not what I usually wear and I typically dress pretty masc I just wanted to try it out but you hate it so we can forget that this ever happened I’ll go take it off I’m sorry.”

Zuko reached up and pulled Sokka into his lap. “Darling. It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

“Oh.”

Zuko cupped Sokka’s face and brushed a tear away from where it had been making its way down their cheek. “I love you. And I want you to express yourself in whatever way makes you comfortable.” He paused. “And you look super cute in this outfit.”

Sokka giggled softly and placed a kiss on the tip of Zuko’s nose. “I think this one will stay in the house for now.” 

“Whatever works for you.” Zuko smiled. “But hey, next time you want to try something new, don’t hide it.”


End file.
